Start School On The Right Foot

August 30, 1999

The climate is right for Hartford schools to finally lift themselves up from the bottom of the academic barrel.

Superintendent Anthony S. Amato has implemented dramatic reforms in the reading curriculum. The state-appointed trustees who took over the school system in 1997 have cleaned up business practices, ensuring that bills are paid on time and that classrooms are stocked with books and supplies. School buildings have been repaired, though more needs to be done. Teachers, supervisors and custodians all have new labor contracts. Almost all the schools are being wired for Internet access, and the district's budget increased by $8 million over the last fiscal year.

Many parents and students have caught the spirit -- but not all. Now it's time for everyone to step up to the plate and demonstrate that they, too, are as committed to improving learning as the state and the school administration seem to be. The first step for students is showing up for class -- starting on the first day, Sept. 7.

Typically, about 25 percent of Hartford students are absent on the first day of school. Moreover, the absenteeism continues through early October. The no-shows have all too familiar alibis for skipping class. They forgot what day the school term began. They were vacationing in Puerto Rico or elsewhere. They decided to put in an extra week or two at their summer jobs. They didn't have proper clothing.

These explanations are inexcusable at any time. But nonattendance would be particularly demoralizing this year when the optimism for change is so high.

Perfect attendance -- or something close to it -- is especially important for students in the fourth, sixth and eighth grades who will be taking the Connecticut Mastery Tests from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2. They will need the time to bone up on their literacy and math skills. Mr. Amato has made it clear that he does not intend for Hartford to ever again have the lowest scores on the CMTs, and that test scores will be used in deciding whether to promote or retain students.

Continued low test scores will not help the cause of Mr. Amato, the trustees who hired him, the city or perhaps even Gov. John G. Rowland. It was Mr. Rowland, after all, who persuaded the legislature to approve the state takeover of the school system. But the ultimate losers will be the students. These children will become less employable when they grow older and therefore less able to enjoy the benefits that society has to offer.

With so much riding on the coming school year, Hartford parents are well advised to cast aside all other concerns and make sure their children attend class from day one.